Petland

Petland, Inc. is a privately held corporation founded in 1967 in Chillicothe, Ohio. Initially, the company owned and operated retail pet stores in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky.

Overview
Petland has franchised its stores and sold pet merchandise since the early 1970's. In the late 1980's, the company began opening stores in Canada and overseas. Petland currently has 131 stores in the United States and 62 in international markets; including Japan, South Africa, China, Canada and Mexico. 15 new domestic stores are scheduled to open in 2010. The company sells kittens, puppies, birds, rodents, tropical fish and reptiles; as well as the food, grooming supplies, and pet care accessories and offer a credit card good for store purchases.

The company also franchises a fish and aquatics store called Aquarium Adventure, which has five U.S. locations. Petland was founded by its current Chairman, Ed Kunzelman.

HSUS Petland investigation
During a November 2008 news conference in Washington, DC, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) revealed the results of an 8 month investigation into Petland Inc., the country's largest chain of stores that sell puppies. According to the investigation, many of the company's stores support puppy mills. The 140 Petland stores sell tens of thousands of puppies every year. In the largest puppy mill investigation on record, HSUS visited 21 stores and 35 breeders and brokers who sold puppies to the stores. The investigators also reviewed interstate import records of an additional 322 breeders, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports and more than 17,000 individual puppies.

This was the latest in a series of HSUS investigations exposing puppy mills, dog auctions and pet stores nationwide. In spite of assurances by the company that Petland "knows its breeders and deals only with those who have the highest standards of pet care", many puppies came from Missouri and other midwestern puppy mills. Investigators visited 35 Petland breeders and witnessed massive, factory farm style operations. Dogs and puppies lived in appalling conditions; including filthy, barren cages reeking of urine and general inadequate care and socialization. Many puppies were also purchased from "pet distributors" or brokers; who also bought from puppy mills. Some of Petland's puppies were also ordered on-line from pet auction sites like the Pet Board of Trade. These findings revealed that Petland does not screen breeders, according to its claim and in fact, might not even know a breeder's name until after a purchase. Another common sales pitch by the staff was that their breeders were "USDA licensed". However, according to an audit of over 100 publicly available inspection reports; over 60% of the company's breeders listed serious animal welfare violations. In fact, many USDA licensed breeders had a history of substandard care; yet remained licensed. The investigation documented dirty, unkempt enclosures under regulation size; inadequate shelter from cold and inadequate veterinary care. Some breeders had sick and even dead dogs, left in cages.

Petland rallies
HSUS's Stop Puppy Mills campaign has held several national demonstrations against Petland's support of cruel puppy mills, in coalition with other humane groups. There are also regular demonstrations held by local groups against this company. At the first rally in January of 2009, demonstrations were held in front of 22 different Petland stores. Organizers included HSUS state directors, other humane groups and local citizens. Demonstrators passed out fliers explaining the pet store/puppy mill connection. One flier included a photo of one of the company's USDA licensed breeders that showed dogs confined to small, wire cages. Two of the demonstrations combined with blanket and towel drives for local animal shelters. Also attending the rallies were former customers whose puppies had nearly died and required emergency veterinary care.

Class action lawsuit against Petland & Hunte
In March of 2009, HSUS members and other consumers filed a class action lawsuit against Petland and the Hunte Corporation for conspiring to sell unhealthy mill puppies to unsuspecting consumers in 20 states. The lawsuit was filed in the federal district court in Phoenix. According to Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president and chief counsel for Animal Protection Litigation at HSUS, many of Petland's puppies come from mills, with the Hunte Corporation acting as a middleman. According to reports resulting from HSUS's 9 month investigation, Petland used deceptive sales and marketing to sell puppies with life-threatening genetic defects and highly contagious parasitic and viral infections. The 34-page complaint included numerous examples of sick and dying puppies.

Petland denied supporting substandard facilities and claimed to follow "Humane Care Guidelines" developed in conjunction with the USDA. However, the USDA informed HSUS in writing that it had no record of any such guidelines. The law suit requested a jury trial and reimbursement of the puppies' purchase price with compensation for all related monetary damages for the class members.

On August 7, 2009, Judge David G. Campbell of the Arizona federal district court dismissed the plaintiffs' complaint against Petland and Hunte Corporation. The plaintiffs were given the option of refiling the Petland complaint, but must add allegations. According to the judge's decision, the plaintiffs did not establish that Petland and Hunte had a duty to inform customers that their puppies were from mills; thus could not sue the companies for non-disclosure. The judge did not allow oral argument.

USDA


The USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service/Animal Care (USDA/APHIS/AC) is responsible for inspections, reporting and enforcing the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The AWA is the only federal law that regulates animals bred and sold by dealers, animals in entertainment, zoo animals and laboratory animals. Even minimal requirements under the AWA are rarely enforced.

USDA certified puppy mills
There are only about a hundred USDA inspectors to monitor 10,000 facilities across the country, ranging from research labs to zoos. Furthermore, "standards" are abysmal. Federal guidelines allow a medium sized terrier to be kept in a cage the size of a clothes drier for its entire life. The AWA is hardly the gold standard for compassion. For example, the act does not say you cannot have 300 dogs confined to cages for their entire lives; never to be taken for a walk or receive any personal attention, let alone be a part of a family. A breeder passes USDA muster as long as the dog has food, water and enough space to turn around.

Adhering to USDA standards does not prove that a breeder is not a puppy mill. Even more so since even these standards are not enforced. Many licensed breeders for large chains like Petland, have significant violations. See also USDA & NABR & the Animal Welfare Act.

Hunte & Petland
The Hunte Corporation touts itself as the largest puppy dealer in the world, with sales in the United States, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Spain, and Japan. The company distributes animals through retail chains such as Petland.

According to a November 2007 article in the Tulsa World, the company buys and sells 90,000 puppies each year. Hunte is located in Goodman, Mo., just across the Oklahoma state line and buys and sells purebred puppies for markets in 30 states that include Ohio, Illinois and Florida.

Hunte owned Petlands & other companies
Hunte's president Steve Rook is married to Andrew Hunte's daughter. The Hunte family own a diversified network of companies incorporated in Missouri under names like JessAnd (Jessica/Andrew) and JesStevAnd and JesSteve and own Petlands in Missouri and Kansas.

Jessica (Hunte) Rook operates Petland franchises in Springfield, Independence and Joplin Missouri and Olathe, Kansas.

Freezing rodents alive
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) obtained video footage of employees' freezing baby mice and rats alive at a Petland store in Fairfax, Virginia. An employee takes live baby rats or "pinkies," from their mother and places them in a freezer to die slow, painful deaths.

Drowning injured rabbits
In August of 2009, an Akron, Ohio Petland employee posted a photo of herself on Facebook holding two rabbits which she had drowned on July 28. The photo showed her dangling two dead, wet rabbits by their necks:


 * "(The) manager took the pic for me. (She) reminded me that there were people outside as (I) was swearing at them to just hurry up and die but then she was so kind as to take this picture."

She commented that the rabbits had been allowed to "attack" and "eat" each other (cannibalism caused by crowding and "poor husbandry"). Also that they were injured with "deep wounds all over" and "an eye missing." Injuries also included a possible broken and and paralysis from the waist down. According to PETA's Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch:


 * "Petland has no business selling any animals. Its management and staff seem unable to provide rabbits with basic supervision and care and don't appear to have anything close to a decent attitude toward them. But at the very least, Petland should follow the example of other national pet store chains and immediately stop selling these small, vulnerable animals."

Store closes & employee charged with animal cruelty
In August of 2009, the Akron, Ohio store permanently closed and the former employee was charged with cruelty to animals.

On November 19, 2009, the 20 year old former employee was sentenced to probation, a 250 dollar fine and 120 hours of community service after pleading guilty to two counts of animal cruelty. The judge could have sentenced her to 180 days in jail. According to her attorney, she was ordered to drown the rabbits due to their severe injuries at the now closed Petland store at Chapel Hill mall.

Employee complaints
According to PETA, they receive "many complaints alleging abuse and neglect of animals in Petland's stores."

A former employee alleged that Petland stores "have puppies dying all the time" due for lack of basic necessities (food and water) and that untrained and underpaid employees "get back at the company" by neglecting the animals".

Another former employee complained of being fired after refusing to put dying animals (hamsters, parakeets, kittens and puppies) into plastic bags and into the freezer. The employee also refused to "let animals breed rampantly" and "got in trouble" for cleaning cages out of the customers' view.

One former employee claimed to have found snakes in the freezer. According to the store, "they weren't paying the vet to treat (animals)" and that's how they were "put to sleep." Rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils and other small animals were "always committing cannibalism", due to lack of food and space."

Pet store employees & sick/injured animals
Most pet store employees start out as teenagers who care about animals and enjoy working with them. Sooner or later, pet store animals become sick or injured. Sometimes, they recover on their own or with minor treatment administered by untrained employees. Other times they will die. While a pet owner will take an animal to the vet, pet store operators make decisions based on economics. A single visit to an exotic vet to treat a sick rabbit may cost hundreds of dollars.

Because stores do not treat a sick or injured animals, employees eventually begin viewing them as disposable. They are literally taught to "dispose of" injured, ill or otherwise unsellable, unprofitable animals by killing them. It is little wonder that employees become insensitive and callous. Euthanasia refers to a quick and painless death for an animal who cannot be saved. However, pet store animals are killed for economic reasons. They are also animals that pet stores are responsible for bringing into the world by purchasing them from breeders. Drowning and freezing are slow, painful methods used to kill pet store animals as they are cheaper than veterinarian-recommended methods, such as an overdose of anesthesia. Monitoring pet stores is not a high priority for local animal welfare agencies. Young, teenage employees may not realize that this is illegal and report it.

Lack of protection under AWA
Rats, mice, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish are not covered under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Species not covered under the AWA expressly eliminated from all safeguards. See also U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Investigations, USDA reports, violations & breeder information

 * Violations by Petland breeders.htm Violations of USDA regulations by Petland breeders, Pet Store Cruelty, accessed November 2009
 * to find out more about breeders.htm#unlicensedbreeders Do Petland puppies really come from LICENSED breeders?, Pet Store Cruelty, accessed November 2009
 * Petland Undercover Expose - video segment, Companion Animal Protection Society, 2005-2006

Community service & charities
Community service programs include Adopt-A-Pet; Pets for a Lifetime; Spay/Neuter Your Pet and Pet Therapy.

Petland has been "fulfilling pet-related wishes since 1994 for children with life-threatening medical conditions" through the "Make A Wish Foundation." Petland stores also collect funds and makes annual company donations to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Personnel

 * Ed Kunzelman - Founder & CEO
 * Frank Difatta - President
 * Joe Watson - Vice President
 * Lisa Johnson, CPA - Director of Finance
 * Greg Hudson - Director of Real Estate
 * Jim Whitman - Franchise Development
 * Steve Huggins - Franchise Development
 * Elizabeth Kunzelman - Director of Marketing and Communication
 * Brian Winslow - Director of Business Improvement
 * Jo Clever - Financial Services Manager
 * James Brown - Director of Advertising
 * Dan McDonie - Director of Construction
 * Tony Neff - Director of Merchandising Services

Contact
Petland, Inc. 250 Riverside St. Chillicothe, OH 45601 United States

Phone: 740-775-2464

Toll Free: 800-221-5935

Web address: http://www.petland.com/

SourceWatch articles

 * American Kennel Club
 * Humane Movement
 * Humane Society of the United States
 * Hunte Corporation
 * NABR & the Animal Welfare Act
 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
 * Puppy Mills
 * U.S. animal rights legislation
 * U.S. Department of Agriculture
 * U.S. Global Exotics
 * War on Animals

External articles

 * Wayne Pacelle Puppies for Sale, er, Adoption A Humane Nation, (blog), Humane Society of the United States, November 25, 2008
 * Jennifer Brown A Trip Behind the Scenes at One of the Most Popular Pet Stores, The Voice for Dogs, accessed November 2009
 * Boycott Petland, Petstore Cruelty, accessed November 2009
 * Find out how Petland is supporting the cruel puppy mill industry, Humane Society of the United States, accessed November 2009